glad i'm not the only one thinking about this. i would assume it's totally fine - one cannot be penalized for paying federal student loans back early. the origination fees are unfortunately going to awful. but my concern is that harvard would "notice" and be all "oh, you didn't need this? you're not needy, reducing your grant!" but that sounds kind of unrealistic/big brotherish

wealtheow wrote:glad i'm not the only one thinking about this. i would assume it's totally fine - one cannot be penalized for paying federal student loans back early. the origination fees are unfortunately going to awful. but my concern is that harvard would "notice" and be all "oh, you didn't need this? you're not needy, reducing your grant!" but that sounds kind of unrealistic/big brotherish

Hmm...According to the loan terms website, origination fees shouldn't really be an issue if you're only taking out the base loan each year.

wealtheow wrote:glad i'm not the only one thinking about this. i would assume it's totally fine - one cannot be penalized for paying federal student loans back early. the origination fees are unfortunately going to awful. but my concern is that harvard would "notice" and be all "oh, you didn't need this? you're not needy, reducing your grant!" but that sounds kind of unrealistic/big brotherish

I've actually had the same exact thought. I was feeling hesitant in paying back some of these on the off chance that my grant got reduced 2L. Do they look at your total current debt load when you do the needbased forms 2L? I.e. What if you managed to save up 10k during 1L and paid it towards your base loans?

wealtheow wrote:glad i'm not the only one thinking about this. i would assume it's totally fine - one cannot be penalized for paying federal student loans back early. the origination fees are unfortunately going to awful. but my concern is that harvard would "notice" and be all "oh, you didn't need this? you're not needy, reducing your grant!" but that sounds kind of unrealistic/big brotherish

Hmm...According to the loan terms website, origination fees shouldn't really be an issue if you're only taking out the base loan each year.

oh, that's more palatable. i was just operating under the assumption that the amount that is not in the form of a stafford loan is a federal PLUS loan. thankfully that looks like it may not be the case

Living and studying abroad can be expensive and the student should plan and budget accordingly. To help defray these costs, the student will receive a budget increase of $1,500 as part of his/her HLS financial aid package.

HLS J.D. and LL.M. students who will be traveling abroad in furtherance of an approved Winter Term Clinical or Research / Writing project may apply for a Winter Term International Travel Grant. Funding will be awarded in amounts expected to range from $800 to $2,000 per qualifying student, depending on the strength of a student’s proposal and the financial requirements of the project, as demonstrated in a reasonable and well-constructed budget.

wealtheow wrote:does anyone know the deal with this base loan? i know we HAVE to take it to get our grant, but if we don't end up needing all of it, can we make payments toward the loan w/ the excess?

I specifically asked the SFS office about this at ASW. The guy I talked to said that we can start making payments to the loan company whenever we want and that it won't affect the financial aid package. I assume he wasn't lying to me.

wealtheow wrote:does anyone know the deal with this base loan? i know we HAVE to take it to get our grant, but if we don't end up needing all of it, can we make payments toward the loan w/ the excess?

I specifically asked the SFS office about this at ASW. The guy I talked to said that we can start making payments to the loan company whenever we want and that it won't affect the financial aid package. I assume he wasn't lying to me.

wealtheow wrote:does anyone know the deal with this base loan? i know we HAVE to take it to get our grant, but if we don't end up needing all of it, can we make payments toward the loan w/ the excess?

I specifically asked the SFS office about this at ASW. The guy I talked to said that we can start making payments to the loan company whenever we want and that it won't affect the financial aid package. I assume he wasn't lying to me.

I figured this was the case, but good to hear it from the Harvard's mouth.

paglababa wrote:September 2, 2014 - 1L Fall Term Classes BeginAnyone know if there is mandatory orientation and if so when that begins? Trying to figure out my summer travel plans and when to quit work